2007 MLB Draft: Which area players will be selected?

With No. 1 Rice and No. 7 Texas A&M set to meet in the Houston Super Regional this weekend at Reckling Park, I could easily write a novel with my thoughts on this matchup alone. However, I prefer not to.

For starters, this is a blog designed for coverage of area schools not named Rice or UH. Every now and then, I’ll toss in an item or two about Rice and UH baseball, but I don’t make it a habit. So for now, we won’t discuss this weekend’s matchup between the Owls and the Aggies.

However, what I would like to talk about today is the 2007 Major League Baseball draft, which will take place Thursday and Friday. With Texas being a hotbed for major league talent, one can certainly expect that there will be quite a few local kids taken from this area. Let’s take a look at some of these local prospects.

Baseball America released its rankings of the Top 200 draft-eligible players in late May. Here are some of the area players who made the cut with their ranking:

Savery posted very good numbers this season en route to being named Conference USA Player of the Year. He is currently 10-1 with a 2.78 ERA and is hitting .360 with four homers and 54 RBIs. He’s still not 100 percent after undergoing shoulder surgery in the offseason, but when you consider the adversity he’s faced over the last two seasons, he’s worthy of being a first-round selection. Plus, he can still throw a mid-90s fastball. However, he likely won’t be a first-round pick because questions still linger about that shoulder injury.

28. Kevin Ahrens, 3B, Memorial HS

He’ll definitely play third base at the next level. Oh, by the way, Ahrens knows his way around the batter’s box: .426 batting average, 47 runs, 10 doubles, 11 home runs, 43 RBIs, .843 slugging percentage, .526 on-base percentage.

Another Rice pitcher who had to work his way back from a shoulder injury. In my opinion, the 6-foot-5 St. Clair is good enough to be a reliever or starter in the majors. He’s got electric stuff, and performed well in limited appearances this season. He currently sports a 2.37 ERA with seven saves in 13 appearances.

Normally, I wouldn’t include a TCU pitcher on this list, but I couldn’t resist after seeing him pitch last weekend against Baylor in the Houston Regional at Reckling Park. Demel, a Spring HS graduate, has pretty good numbers: 7-1 record, 2.17 ERA, 32 appearances, 49.2 IP, 13 saves, 71 strikeouts. Nice.

This Clements HS graduate started the season as one of Conference USA’s hottest pitchers, but struggled down the stretch. His finished the season with decent numbers (8-4 record, 4.11 ERA, 122 strikeouts, 103 IP), but not the type of numbers that one would expect from someone who began the season as Tulane’s Friday starter. Still, he has the type of potential that scouts are sure to find to their liking.

104. Matt West, 3B, Bellaire HS

I don’t know much about him, but I know his regular season numbers: .545 batting average, 8 homers, 43 RBIs, 31 stolen bases.